Young People's Music Program (YPMP)
A Non-Profit Organization
- Structure
The YPMP is governed by a committee that consists of one chairman, one treasurer, and ten committee members. The officers are elected from the committee, and each officer serves a three-year term. Committee members have no term limits.
- History
The YPMP was founded in 1983 by a group of music lovers and enthusiastic parents in Central New Jersey. It is a self-sustained activity that operates under the umbrella of an organization known as the Chinese American Cultural Association (CACA). The primary driving force has been the dedication of the YPMP Committee members, all of whom are volunteers.
The goals of YPMP are to promote musical appreciation among young people, and encourage wider exposure to the critique of professional musicians. At the beginning, YPMP sponsored a competition in the spring and an honors recital in the fall. This format has evolved, and now both events take place in the spring, usually during March and May respectively.
Over the past several years, there has been unprecedented growth in the participation of this competition. It has widened to include children from Long Island, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania, in addition to those from New Jersey. The number of performers increased from less than twenty at its inception to over one hundred last year. Because of this, the YPMP Committee decided to split both the competition and recital into two events: one for players of string instruments and one for pianists.
- Activities
Each year the YPMP sponsors two musical events known as the YPMP Competition and the Honors Recital. All children between the ages of 6 and 18 are welcome without regard to race, creed, sex, or national origin. At the YPMP Competition, one third of the participants in each category, strings and piano, are selected by professional judges to enter the following Honors Recital. Three outstanding performances are then chosen at the Honors Recital, also in both categories. An awards ceremony takes place at the conclusion of the recital. Trophies are awarded to the finalists of the competition, and cash prizes are awarded to the top three.
- Special Thanks to Judges and Sponsors
The judges (also known as adjudicators) are professional musicians from the greater metropolitan area. Two criteria must be met: they have taught or are currently teaching children in piano or string instruments, and none of their students are in the YPMP Competition. The YPMP has been very fortunate to have such accomplished judges who are chairmen or professors of musical departments at universities, as well winners of international competitions such as the International Paganini Violin Competition and the Arthur Rubenstein Piano Competition.
The YPMP Committee also acknowledges the Phi Lambda Charitable Trust and the Levine Foundation for their generous donations which have made the prizes more affordable.
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